Labor of Love 2011

Almost every year, my brothers Robert and Bennett make the trip down from Missouri to spend the Labor Day weekend with us here in Austin.

We have traditionally called this weekend ‘Labor of Love’ because the three of us do this because we love it – not because we expect to make any money or achieve any sort of fame by doing it.

Therefore it is done out of love – not out of any expectation for exchange of anything else.

It is ‘Labor’ and we ‘Love’ to do it. And since it traditionally happens over Labor Day weekend, it is only appropriate that we call the weekend ‘Labor of Love’.

As almost everyone already knows by now, making a living in the music business (if you can even call it a music ‘business’ right now) is very difficult during these economic times.

But we have fun writing and recording these songs – which is why we do it.

Here are the two new songs we wrote and recorded this year (as always, right click and choose ‘Save As’ to save them onto your computer):

Change
PassionMoon

And two years ago, we added our sister Anita to the mix. Here is the song we did with her:

The_Singer_Is_The_Song

About three years ago, my brother Marty and his son Ian helped us with one. This is it:

Nothing_Impossible

I often wonder if there was no money, would it free us up to do the things we love instead of being forced to do things in order to make money?

That question is addressed in one of the two books I am currently writing – the title of which is TBD at this point. Working titles so far are ‘The Most Dangerous Device in the World’, ‘Adam Christopher’, or ‘The Money Gods’. As I get closer to finishing I’m sure I’ll post more about that later.

But in the mean time, Robert and Bennett asked if I could post the other tunes that we did over the last few years here at Electric LarryLand.

Sure!

Here they are:

Change
Cleansed
Come_Home_With_Me
Edge_I_Wear-Original
Gettin_Busy
Homeless
I_Am_Tired
Nothing_Impossible
On_The_Sly
PassionMoon
Presence_Of_Love
Rag-Da-Funk
Simple_Sheep
Sly_Bone
The_Edge_I_Wear
The_Singer_Is_The_Song
Water_Soft_Rain

Feel free to download them, share them, burn them onto CD’s – do whatever you want with them for your own personal use. All other rights are reserved.

Some of the songs above were written and recorded as early as 2002. Some were done by one or two of us – others by all three of us. And still others were done with brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.

During this year’s Labor of Love we turned on the video cameras and recording the entire weekend – at least during the parts we were in the studio working on the songs.

If you are interested in watching us come up with these songs, you can view archives of the video footage at the following URL: http://www.livestream.com/laboroflove

Scroll down to the bottom of the video and click on the thumbnails to watch the archived video footage.

[UPDATE]

I almost forgot!

Here are the lyrics to the two new songs (with Bennett’s comments throughout):

Change:

==

(larry w/ an ear catching intro)

(bennett / robert)
did you hear on the news?
talkin’ ’bout the deficit.
just watchin’ it burn.
it’s high time that we a grow a set.
it’s fallin’ apart.
shake your head, so what do you do?

did you hear on the news?
we got into another fight.
and what do they say?
“this time gonna get it right”
so, when does it end?
shake your head, so what can you do?

CHORUS: (bennett w/ robert harmony)
if you want it arranged,
it’s all up to you.
and it may seem strange:
Change….when you want it to.

(larry back again w/ more ear popping riffs)

(bennett / robert)
did you hear on the news.
little girl just took her life.
was bullied at school.
decided not to pay the price.
they wont do it again.
shake your head, so what could you do?

CHORUS: (bennett w/ robert harmony)
if you want it arranged,
it’s all up to you.
and it may seem strange:
Change….when you want it to.

BRIDGE: (larry / bennett)
daddy, i don’t like this anymore.
wont you hold my hand!
stop the monsters;
close the closet door.
make it go away!
momma, take me away!
ooooooooo
can you make it better?
ooooooooo
wipe away the tears,
Please?

(listen to larry go!)

CHORUS: (bennett w/ robert harmony)
if you want it arranged,
it’s all up to you.
and it may seem strange:
Change….when you want it to.

(larry)
Do you want it to?
Do you want it to?

(wow! larry just don’t quit!)

==

Passion Moon:

==

slight wink
glasses clink
warm glance
slow we dance

big room
sweet perfume
soul glide
slip n slide

free fall
echoes call
deep dive
come alive

tempt chance
sharing trance
warm side
soul glide

CHORUS:
answer a passion-moon
in playful lovers tune
enticing motions all across the skin
it builds a warmth attack
’til there’s no holding back
a pulsing rhythm from within

light touch
fingers clutch
slight chase
warm embrace

tongue tied
fire side
soul kiss
swim in bliss

CHORUS:
answer a passion-moon
in playful lovers tune
enticing motions all across the skin
it builds a warmth attack
’til there’s no holding back
a pulsing rhythm from within

BRIDGE: (robert…yes, I said robert!)
come my way
passion play
we are one
in love

free fall
echoes call
deep dive
come alive

sea side
evening tide
soul crave
rushing wave

CHORUS:
answer a passion-moon
in playful lovers tune
enticing motions all across the skin
it builds a warmth attack
’til there’s no holding back
a pulsing rhythm from within

==

Labor of Love

Every year over Labor Day weekend, my brothers Robert and Bennett make the trek down from Missouri to Texas.

When they’re here, we usually write a song or two and record it. Sometimes our other brothers and sisters join us and we make it a family thing.

It has become both a wonderful ritual and a Labor of Love. How fitting! A Labor of Love over Labor Day weekend!

This year, we turned on the Electric LarryLand studio camera and shared our writing efforts with all of you.

The result was great fun and a new song to share with all of you.

So here it is; Our Labor of Love for 2009… a song entitled “The Singer is the Song”.

The Singer is the Song

Enjoy!

-=- Lyrics -=-

(Larry)
a hammer for nails
a pill for what ails
a map to show direction
a mirror for reflection

(Bennett)
but what to feed the hunger
remaining from the younger?
it says the answer’s out there
and so we focus out…where?

chorus: (Bennett)
there is no thing to tie you (hey)
no need to look outside you (hey)
it’s hidden as a treasure (hey)
much more than you can measure (hey)
it’s waiting deep inside you (hey)
and been there all along (hey)
and once you right the wrong (hey)
the singer is the song (hey)

(Larry)
a beam to light the rails
a wind to fill the sails
a turn of misdirection
a longing for connection

(Anita)
and if we feel the hunger,
remaining from the younger,
that says the answer’s out there
and so we focus out…where?

chorus: (Anita)
there is no thing to tie you (hey)
no need to look outside you (hey)
it’s hidden as a treasure (hey)
much more than you can measure (hey)
it’s patiently inside you (hey)
and been there all along (hey)
and once you right the wrong (hey)
the singer is the song (hey)

bridge: (Robert)
Living within yourself (feel it)
Is a Radiant Being (see it)
Awake from your dream (believe it)
Allow it to sing (be it).

chorus: (Bennett)
there is no thing to tie you (hey)
no need to look outside you (hey)
it’s hidden as a treasure (hey)
much more than you can measure (hey)
it’s patiently inside you (hey)
and been there all along (hey)
and once you right the wrong (hey)
the singer is the song (hey)

Link to the song:

The Singer is the Song

Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work”

I remember when Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work” was released.

Stationed in Fort Leonard Wood Missouri with my first wife Anita and my newly born son Adam, I was driving my green Ford Fairlane 500 towards the trailer park where we lived in St. Roberts.

Thoughts of recording and mixing were running through my mind.

“How did they get that sound?”

It was so cool!

Of course, “Reeling in the Years” was the big hit… but I loved “Dirty Work” for some strange reason.

I thought I was an engineer then. Now I know I didn’t have a clue… but I had immense desire.

What I lacked in knowledge back then, I made up for in desire. What I lack in desire today, I have replaced with knowledge.

I loved that time in my life… when Steely Dan was something I looked up to.

A standard to reach for and surpass if possible.

Then everything was recorded onto analog tape machines and there was a sense of urgency…

Humans were required to do every step of the process (not counting the physical act of recording).

How different was the recording process compared to today…

Now, humans need only offer their opinions to the machines. They do the work for us.

Perhaps, this is why music is not valued today as much as it was then.

Everyone has the ability to make music themselves. And they do… good and bad.

The fact that there is so much bad music out there does not seem to deter writer’s willingness and desire to make it.

Is that good or bad? Should there be a ceiling to an artists’ endeavors?

Back then, music was a special event… something of value, an education and an experience; a pinnacle.

Today, music is a side show; an after thought. It is everywhere. And it all sounds the same.

Maybe this is is only the ramblings of an older man who has lived the many phases of music’s existence in the 20th century.

But maybe it is at the very least, a version of the truth we all share.

For now, it is my ‘Dirty Work’ to share this with you!

All the best to you!

Larry

Introduction to Wanderer Awakening Posts

People have asked me to write some behind-the-scenes notes about some of the production techniques done on Wanderer Awakening.

For those that do not know what this is, a little explanation might be in order.

Wanderer Awakening is a two and a half hour musical consisting of 50 titles – twenty-five traditional ‘songs’ and twenty-five narrations with underscoring.

It is the followup project to David Wilcock and my original collaboration entitled The Science of Peace.

Since information about production techniques is a little over the top of most people who visit David’s site, it seemed logical to start a category here on my studio blog to post these notes.

This way only those who truly are interested will come here and read about it. And those who could care less won’t be bothered with it cluttering up David’s site.

I hope to post notes about every song in the project over the next few months. But I can guarantee that I will only be doing this when I have spare time to do it.

Enjoy!

Larry

The Importance of Intelligibility

When mixing speech, it is best to ensure intelligibility by using compression and EQ on the vocal.

This can be done using an EQ that is adjusted for a clearer sounding voice by increasing the gain at around 3k.

Generally, I like to filter the low frequencies of the microphone out of the signal by using a high pass filter to remove any ‘bumps’ or other noises that don’t belong there also.

Once the EQ sounds clear and clean on the vocal, I will add some fairly substantial compression to the vocal in order to ‘smooth out’ the EQ that was put on for intelligibility.

I usually choose several compressors set to a very smooth setting and place them sequentially one after the other, or since I own a NeoDynium compressor from Roger Nichols Digital (now called the D4), I use one instead of several.

The NeoDynium compressor was originally made by Brandon Ware at Elemental Audio but was sold/Licensed to RN Digital in 2006.

I never saw a reason to upgrade from the Elemental Audio versions, so I still use those.

At any rate, by using this compressor I am able to compress the vocal in such a way that it does not sound ‘compressed’ but instead has a very smooth sound to it.

However, having added high frequency EQ, and filtering the low end down via the hi pass filter, then compressing the vocal, sometimes it needs a tad of low end bump to give the vocal some body.

A little bump around 220 hz does the trick.

Cut and Level Mixing

I received a question from Flash at Flashpoint Studios regarding the differences between adjusting levels in Nuendo.

One way is to use the objects in the arrangement window and raise and lower them there… the other is to use the mixer and raise and lower the levels in the mixer.

Here is the difference:

If you raise/lower the level in the arrangement window (i.e. the objects) you are increasing/decreasing the level BEFORE it hits the mixer and the plugins. The advantage of doing this is that you can smooth out the levels before they hit a compressor… in effect making the compressor not work so hard and also making it less likely to hear the compressor work. If you are wanting to NOT hear a compressor work, then this is the best choice.

If you raise/lower the level in the mixer, you are changing the levels AFTER the plugins. The advantage of doing this is that you can keep the effect of a compressor working but adjust the level of the sound lower/higher while keeping the compressor effect. If you are WANTING to hear the compressor work, then this is the best choice.

FWIW I always adjust levels in the arrangement window for constant level… then I use the mixer as a simple overall level control.

This generally makes my projects sound like I didn’t use plugins… Which is always a good thing.

Jingle Jangle Christmas

When I was younger (many years ago and more than likely before many of you were even born) I used to dream of being able to play all of the musical parts that I heard in my head onto some kind of mechanism that would play them back as I heard them.

I used to dream about doing this while I lived at my parents house in Missouri.

Sitting in my bedroom, I would listen to the sounds in my head and imagine them being playing all together at once.

It was a dream that would not be realized until many years later when my friend Gary Powell installed a complete MIDI studio in his home and invited me to use it.

Gary let me use his MIDI studio to compose and arrange the sounds that I heard in my head starting in 1986. In fact, I recorded my very first complete MIDI CD at his studio and titled it “Family Portrait”. His generosity is something that I will always be grateful to him for. Words cannot express what that experience did for me and my musical growth.

Armed with this knowledge about the capabilities of MIDI and bursting with a desire to own my own MIDI studio, I purchased tons of my own MIDI gear for my use here at Electric LarryLand.

It didn’t take much for me to be inspired enough to write and record songs at my newly equipped MIDI capable studio. I wrote many many tunes during those days.

In 1999, I was inspired to write a Christmas song entitled “Jingle Jangle”. The tune was loosely based on a style similar to Mannheim Steamroller. However, it doesn’t really sound like them at all.

I’ll let you be the judge of what you think it sounds like.

Enjoy!

Cut That EQ!

EQ is an essential part of mixing used in professional audio work.

Most engineers will grab an EQ knob and start turning until it sounds right. And there is nothing wrong with that approach.

Generally, an inexperienced engineer will ‘add’ frequencies in an EQ device in order to make the track sound ‘brighter’ or give it more ‘body’ or any of about 10,000 terms people use to describe what they are wanting.

However, an experienced engineer knows that the first place to start with EQ is to ‘cut’ frequencies.

The reason for this is that generally modern tracks are very ‘thick’ sounding and there is too much audio data for the amount of sonic space available. Cutting frequencies tends to ‘clean up’ a mix to allow for tracks to live together in harmony instead of fighting each other for space.

Another good practice is to roll off sub-bass frequencies in order to clean up the low end and make room for the Kick Drum or Bass Guitar.

I do this almost always for anything that might have sub-sonic frequencies that do not really need to be there for the track to sound right.

An example would be a vocal track… rarely (if ever) does the voice produce anything that is usable or necessary in that range. So using a ‘Hi Pass’ filter for vocal tracks is very common practice.

Finally, when cutting background vocals, it is a good idea to run them through a common group channel and EQ that group channel so that you conserve the amount of processing done by the audio computer and to place the background vocal parts in an area of the mix that does not compete with the lead vocal or backing tracks.

Notice that I have chosen to use both a ‘Hi Pass’ filter and also a ‘Hi Frequency Shelving’ EQ for the background vocals.

This has the effect of making the background vocals sound very ‘airy’ and keeps them out of the way of the lead vocal and other instruments.

Background Vocals and Tracks

It is not unusual to record 24 tracks of instruments when doing a typical pop song.

But it is unusual to record 24 additional tracks of just background vocals. This is what was required for a song that I am currently working on.

In fact, there was so many tracks used on this song, that even when they were minimized in size to their smallest setting, and even keeping them in their respective folders, they would all not fit onto my 1600 x 1200 screen that I am using.

Here is a screen capture of my Nuendo machine with the song loaded. There are tons of tracks.

This simply could not have been done without spending tons of money to go along with the tracks before the advent of digital recording.

Thank goodness for digital!

And to top it all off, everything is being done on one computer. It’s my AMD 64 computer that I got from AMD as an endorsement.

Of course, it’s a very very fast computer, but the fact that it can even be done on one computer now simply amazes me.

I remember when you could only get 24 tracks on a 2 inch tape… and each tape cost $150 and you only got 15 minutes worth of recording on it.

Times have sure changed.

Transfer Progress

The transfer from cassettes to computer is going very well.

I’m using an RME MultiFace audio interface to convert the audio into digital form and an older version of Samplitude to record the data onto my laptop computer.

It has come as a complete surprise to me as to how much data I actually have to transfer.

In my mind, I was thinking it was a few cassettes that had original material on them… but so far it has turned out to be over 35 cassettes and there are still more that have not been transferred.

For many years, I recorded ideas onto tape. Sometimes waking up in the middle of the night with an idea and then turning on the cassette recorder to document the idea I had heard in my mind.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I must have known that my writing efforts would have been heard by someone eventually… but my conscious mind did not think about it much. I just recorded whatever the idea was and basically forgot about it once it was on tape.

But thankfully, my years of ideas recordings are starting to pay off. I am using the ideas stored on these tapes as foundations for the songs that David Wilcock and I are using in our new project “Wanderer Awakening”.

It appears that there is enough material to make three or four completely new projects from these ideas. As I stated in an earlier post, this is a gold mine of song ideas on these cassettes.

I can’t wait for you to hear these songs. The chord structures are unique, the rhythms feel good, and the lyrics are embedded with concepts most people do not bother to think about.

This is truly my life’s calling. But I had not realized this until I started this transfer process. Everything leading up to this process has been about the preparation of these song ideas and their integration into structure that can inspire the listener into inevitable action.

This is a mouthful… I know. But an explanation will be coming.

More to come…

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